Sequential pattern data mining and visualization

Abstract

One or more processors ( 22 ) are operated to extract a number of different event identifiers therefrom. These processors ( 22 ) are further operable to determine a number a display locations each representative of one of the different identifiers and a corresponding time. The display locations are grouped into sets each corresponding to a different one of several event sequences ( 330 a , 330 b , 330 c. 330 d , 330 e ). An output is generated corresponding to a visualization ( 320 ) of the event sequences ( 330 a , 330 b , 330 c , 330 d , 330 e ).

1. A method, comprising:
 extracting a number of different topics from a dataset with a computer; 
 providing an arrangement of the different topics relative to time of occurrence with the computer; 
 determining a number of topic sequence patterns from the arrangement with the computer; 
 providing an output corresponding to a visualization of the topic sequence patterns with the computer; and 
 changing a time resolution of the topic sequence patterns. 
 
   
   
     2. The method of  claim 1 , which further includes changing a support threshold of the topic sequence patterns. 
   
   
     3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein said determining includes establishing a number of data trees each corresponding to a different one of the topic sequence patterns. 
   
   
     4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the output defines the visualization to depict each of the topic sequence patterns as a set of display locations connected by line segments. 
   
   
     5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the dataset relates to one or more selected from the group consisting of: medical insurance claims data, bioinformatic data, genomic data, drug performance data, risk factor data for military operations, and retail sales data. 
   
   
     6. A method, comprising:
 evaluating a dataset with a computer to determine a number of sequence patterns; 
 providing a visual representation of the sequence patterns with the computer; and 
 displaying a number of visual indications in the visual representation, the visual indications each corresponding to a level of support for a respective one of the sequence patterns; 
 wherein each sequence pattern corresponds to at least one first event that frequently precedes at least one second event and the level of support corresponds to a frequency of occurrence for the sequence pattern. 
 
   
   
     7. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the sequence patterns are each presented as one or more line segments in the visual representation. 
   
   
     8. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the visual indications each correspond to one of a number of different colors, the different colors each representing a different support level range. 
   
   
     9. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the sequence patterns are comprised of one or more line segments and the color of each of the one or more line segments relate to a support level. 
   
   
     10. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the visualization depicts at least two of the sequence patterns that overlap in time. 
   
   
     11. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the visualization depicts at least two of the sequence patterns that have the same order of events and start at different times. 
   
   
     12. An apparatus, comprising:
 a computer carrying processor executable instructions operable to generate a visual representation of a number of sequence patterns determined from a computer-accessible dataset and display a number of visual indications each corresponding to a level of support for a different one of the sequences patterns of the visual representation, wherein each sequence pattern corresponds to at least one first topic that frequently precedes at least one second topic and the level of support corresponds to a frequency of occurrence for the sequence pattern. 
 
   
   
     13. The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the instructions are operable to extract a number of different topics from a computer-accessible dataset, provide an arrangement of the different topics relative to time of occurrence, and determine the number of sequential patterns from the arrangement. 
   
   
     14. The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the instructions are operable to extract a number of different topics from a computer-accessible dataset, establish a number of two-topic sequence pattern, perform an evaluation of each of the two-topic patterns relative to a threshold, and provide a plurality of three-topic sequence patterns as a function of the two-topic sequence patterns and the evaluation. 
   
   
     15. An apparatus, comprising: a computer-readable device encoded with a number of processor executable instructions operable to generate a visual representation of a number of sequence patterns determined from a computer-accessible dataset and display a number of visual indications each corresponding to a level of support for a different one of the sequence patterns of the visual representation, wherein each sequence pattern corresponds to at least one first topic that frequently precedes at least one second topic and the level of support corresponds to a frequency of occurrence for the sequence pattern. 
   
   
     16. The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions are operable to extract a number of different topics from a computer-accessible dataset, establish a number of two-topics sequence patterns, perform an evaluation of the two-topic patterns relative to a threshold, and provide a plurality of three-topic sequence patterns as a function of the two-topic sequence patterns and the evaluation. 
   
   
     17. The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions are operable to: determine a number of data pairs each including one member representing one of a number of different topics and another member representing time; determine a number of display locations each corresponding to one of the data pairs; and group the locations into a number of different sets each corresponding to one of the sequence patterns. 
   
   
     18. The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the device is in the form of a portable memory.